Mets Should Retire Number 7, Ed Kranepool

In the video below I follow up with a twitter conversation I recently had with Greg Pomes and Dan Tanna where we discussed numbers that the Mets should retire. Watch as I explain why the Mets should retire Ed Kranepool number 7. I also reached out to fellow Mets blogger buddy Steve Keane of the Kranepool Society for his thoughts. See Steve’s full comments below the video.

Steve Keane’s comments on retiring Ed Kranepool number 7:

I’ve always been on board when it comes to retiring Kranepool 7. The man played his full 18 year carer as a Mets player and is an original Mets played on the’69 WS champs as well as the “73 NL champs. Even though he was not a great player he still holds the Mets record for games played, hits, and is top ten in every other hitting category even triples (where Ed ranks 9th all time with 25, three more than Lee Mazzilli who has 22)

More than that, Kranepool was a team player, when Donn Clendenon came to the team in ’69 it cut Eddie’s playing time but he never complained as the club got better and was winning. He even took an assignment to the minors late in his career as a plus where he worked on his hitting and came back to the big leagues as a premier pinch hitter.

I met Ed this past summer at Citi Field and he is still a Met as he’s very active in the Mets Alumni and working as a anyalst on some Brooklyn Cylcones games on SNY .

It would be great as part of the 50th Anniversary of the franchise for the Mets to retire #7 (as well as Jerry Koosman’s 36)

Thanks to Steve for the comments and please be sure to check him out over at the Kranepool Society. For more on the Mets current retired numbers go here.

Post Update: December 28, 2010 1:17pm:
A lot of discussion going on about this topic over at Mets Police. A few comments that the Mets can’t retire #7 because Jose Reyes wears that number.

My thoughts:
In my opinion the idea of not retiring #7 Kranepool because Jose Reyes wears that number is not a good enough reason. Either – 1. Grandfather Reyes in and let him continue to wear it but no one else wears it after him or 2. Make Reyes change his number. Kranepool changes his number from 21 to 7 when Warren Spahn joined the team.

I am not a person who probably can't be convinced that seven should be retired, I just know that like all of you this is a team that since Wilpon and company have been involved with the team, they have retired more numbers for players that have never played for the team that they own (only the team that they wished they owned) than they have the team that they actually own. I refuse to count Tom Seaver, because regardless of whether or not he ever came back, no one was ever going to wear that number again, once he left in '77, so as far as I am concerned that number was retired before current ownership was involved. Should not Hernandez & Piazza have their numbers retired? Yes. Jerry Koosman? Yes. Then if you want to get to Kranepool, by all means. 41, 31, 17, 36, then if you want to go with 7, and give Reyes 77…or grandfather it in, fine.

ed kranepool will always be a strong memory to met fans.
however every favorite met number cannot be retired.
how about cleon jones ?
if ed kranepool had had as much minor league experience as cleon, he would have been a much better hitter.
like jonny lewis,ron swoboda and joe christopher, they were rushed to the majors.

I hear what your saying and I'm not suggesting that ever Met favorite be retired. I've had a number of people say to me that they feel Piazza 31 should be retired. What are your thoughts on that and is there anyone out there that you'd like to see retired?

I feel that Hernandez should have his number retired because of both the on the field and off the field. He represented a change in the culture of the team. He was the best defensive 1b the team has ever had, as well as the best clutch hitter. He might be the best defensive player the team has had at any position. Jerry Grote might keep him out of the top. He was the best hitter the team has ever had, over a prolonged period of time, the only thing that might prevent him from being the best Mets position player, ever is, if you are a power junkie, then that honor goes to Piazza. Now, in the long run, David Wright might be all or most of those guys, but for now, the two best hitters the team has ever had are Hernandez and Piazza. Piazza by the way, may not have been the greatest thrower, but he was a good catcher, better than the overrated guy across town, who consistently had pitchers to work with that were great at holding runners at first.

And lets not forget that they also need to take 36 out of circulation.

Anytime…always willing to talk Mets baseball. There are things that the team does, that anger me, like they do everyone else. I am still amazed that they were so surprised that they designed a stadium with such little regard to the history of the Mets that no one is surprised at all, that they have not shown any proclivity to honoring the teams' past. Why does a fnas website have to pretend to have its' own "Old Timers" Day. Maddening.